Magic
Magic in Halse operates under specific rules, but still allows for a lot of creativity in how it is manipulated. Entering the roleplay without any knowledge of Halsean magic is not a huge blunder, as much of the following is just groundwork for explaining why it exists in this setting and how mages actually work under the hood. But, especially if your character is a mage, you may run into power-balancing problems or slight issues with rp canon further down the road. Mechanism of Magic * Magic is the finished product of a certain naturally-occurring raw material - mana. * No mana in the environment = no magic can be performed (similar to a car being unable to run without gas, or trying to write a quill with an empty inkwell). * Mana is an airborne plasma-like substance - invisible, indestructible, and usually inert, but mages and magic-adept creatures can notice its presence physically and mentally, and even manipulate it. Think of mana as somewhat like a noble gas in this manner. Upon being used, mana dissipates back into the atmosphere for re-use. This means spells can be cast repeatedly at a time, but only if the mage doesn't use more mana than is available around them. Therefore, especially complicated or powerful spells have a cooldown time. ** Leading sages theorize that the world is made of incredibly dense mana, and that the mana in the environment is the loose remnants of a massive magic explosion event called the Cataclysm. * Mana concentration varies; it is densest in cold areas and coastlines, to varying degrees in landlocked/temperate areas, and sparse in hot climes. However, there are ways to artificially keep the mana levels in the air present, which are usually a herculean effort of engineering and magic know-how. * If present in high enough density, mana may warp the environment, turning it into a sort of Genius Loci or otherwise playing havoc with physics and reality in general. * Some humans are born addicted to mana for some reason; they are often adept mages but experience withdrawal symptoms and eventually death without constant exposure to adequate amounts of it. There are different words for this, but in Aerestra they are known as Lorshals. The city has a less-prejudiced view of them compared to other regions of Karsen due to the neighboring countries of Gryons and Cairns having a culture that favors Lorshals as destined sorcerers. Magic Charisms and Temper A mage is someone who manipulates magic. A mage's charism is the spiritual persona of a mage's skill and the vehicle that transforms mana into magic. A charism's temper describes its type (i.e., dark, light, anima, etc) and "personality" (i.e., irate, stolid, weak, etc). For example, a dark wizard's charism might be described as having an aggressive dark temper, indicating they mainly specialize in offensive dark magic. Essentially, a charism's temper roughly mirrors the mage's actual personality, but scholars refer to it as though it has a mind of its own, which might well be possible. There is debate over whether charisms are truly alive. Charisms can be sensed by other mages with the ability to do so, giving the sensor a hint of what kind of mage they are. They also may take a protective role over the mage when they are asleep, responding differently to threats depending on their temper. One may become a mage in one of two ways: * Innate mage - Someone who is born with an immature charism fused to their soul. Makes up about 3/4 of the mage population. Those who are descended from mages or are born in a mana-rich place are more likely to be innate mages. Charisms in family members often look and act similarly. Many races besides humans are innate mages. * Artificial mage - AKA tempered mages. Someone who convinces a charism to fuse with their soul. This is most commonly achieved via a dangerous ritual known as the Tempering, in which a pre-existing charism with a temper of its own and the aspiring mage attempt to overtake each other's willpower in a battle inside the mind. Overall this is less common due to the mental difficulty of this with no guarantee of a reward of powerful magic. The more established the charism, the more dangerous it is. Only humans can be artificial mages. Charisms can be removed from a human mage and transferred to another, although this is a risky procedure that may result in death for both individuals at worst, and an unknown change in personality for the giver at best. Types of Magic The most commonly agreed-upon fields of magic study are the following, which can be split into hundreds of sub-categories based on specialty/discipline. Because of this, the major fields are cautiously and vaguely defined: * Anima (AKA nature, natural, or elemental magic) - overtly manipulates the environment (weather, earth, etc.). Specialists in one type, such as fire or water, are the norm, with mastery of several types being a trademark of experienced mages. Strong against anim and light magic. * Dark - draws from negative emotion. Morally-dubious magic at best, but very powerful. Strong against elves and anima magic. * Light - draws from positive emotion. Many light mages are healers, but not all. Strong against dwarves and dark magic. * Ritual '''- submissively petitions the environment to change rather than manipulating it. A peaceful magic, it is far less flashy and slower to activate than anima, often with more unpredictable, practical, or healing-related uses. Ritual is the least understood of all magical disciplines, as its rural experts aren't likely to enter academia. Magic can be further classified into how it's used, an informal scale which is known as the '''magic spectrum: * Black - offensive magic * White - healing magic * Gray - magic that doesn't fit into either of the two categories Mages are not subject to using only one type of magic throughout their lives, although it is difficult to become an expert in more than one field. Most often, they are skilled in one type of magic and have a very weak secondary skill in another. This can be achieved either through study and practice or religious devotions. Magic classification (TBA)